Blue Bloods, So That's Why They Are So Powerful

Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz is another vampire series. I tend to find those don't I? Well, unlike Stephenie Meyer's vampires and werewolves, this story centers on a secret society or civilization of vampires. These rich families are not only the Rockefellers of this fiction work, but they also are vampires; is that how they got so rich and powerful--mind control? Then again if you lived for centuries at a time, I assume you would cull enormous wealth as well. Schuyler Van Alen is a 15-year-old girl in a New York prep school, and she is an outsider. She doesn't really think to highly of her classmates, Mimi Force and Jack Force, among others. She sees herself differently, and that could be related to her convoluted background and heritage. Her father is gone, her mother is in a coma, and her grandmother is the only one caring for her along with the driver and the housekeeper. But she does have one great friend, Oliver.

***Spoiler Alert***
Schuyler comes to a realization that not all is what it seems in her family, and her connection with her grandmother and with Jack Force are stronger than she realizes. A civilization dating back to the landing at Plymouth Rock and beyond has survived hundreds and thousands of years. This civilization has hid right under the noses of humanity, but they are the richest and most famous of all society. Models, rockstars, artists, designers, photographers; you name it and they are probably vampires--I mean Blue Bloods. It certainly is a different take on the term.

Generally, Blue Bloods are consider the highest of society members, usually due to birthright. But in this book, vampires are the Blue Bloods and their blood is not red. It is blue. Ok, so this sounds a bit lame, and it is.

However, what captured my attention is the interactions between the students themselves, regardless of their heritage. There are the outsiders, the bad boys, the elite group, the jocks, etc. I guess Stephenie Meyer was right when she said in a Borders' Summer Book Club interview that high school and those years in adolescence are the easiest to return to for adults and it is something many of us share from one side of the fence to the other. I was an outsider in school, but some of my friends were in the "cool" group. Schuyler's plight as an outsider is something I can relate to, but I can also relate to her sense of self and knowing that she doesn't need her classmates' acceptance to be a human being, or in this case a vampire with attitude.

The premise of the book is a hidden legend within the society, kept from all new Blue Bloods who come of age, and only known by very few of the Elders. The Croatan or Silver Blood that preys upon his own kind to garner more power. I liked this twist on the legend and its tie-ins with American history and the lost colony of Roanoke.

***End Spoiler***

I picked up this book to get me away from the seriousness of The Road, which is a great book, but a bit heavy. I wanted something lighter in subject that would read fast and keep my attention. I found that combination in Blue Bloods, and I am anxious to read Masquerade, the second book in the series.